Work on the park's $30m infrastructure is set to begin this month, with the complex to be developed in stages over several years.

Plans for the landscaped business park feature a central hub and plaza, with fountains, outdoor spaces, walk and cycleways, boulevard-style roads and amenities such as a gym and cafes.

Sax said that with Christchurch expected to see ''the most incredible growth'' in the next decade, the new park should meet burgeoning demand for space for warehousing, logistics, light industry and manufacturing for the rebuild.

He said businesses were ''crying out for quality industrial space''.

Research from real estate companies shows Christchurch's industrial property prices and rents are the fastest growing in New Zealand as the rebuild boosts demand for premises and land.

The land for the development - bordered by Waterloo, Pound and Brixton roads between Islington and Templeton - has been used for meat production since the 19th century under names such as the Christchurch Meat Company, the New Zealand Refrigerating Company and Waitaki International.

The rural and industrial-zoned site was sold by PPCS in 2005 to joint-venture partners Hubbard, whose South Canterbury Finance failed before his death, and by Tulloch and his Southland business partner, Paul Johnstone.

Sax bought his share of the project from the finance company's receivers this year.

Estimated by the NBR rich list to be worth $85m, Sax owns the Southpark complex in Middleton through his company, Southpark Corporation, and has large land interests in Auckland.

Tulloch is a former Gore and Mataura mayor and UnitedFuture president who has business interests in transport, meat processing, farming and property.